Does how you did in college really matter

[CaptainMark]

Pilot Careers
Qualifications

Typical qualifications for consideration as a FedEx pilot.

• Commercial Pilot Certificate with Multi-engine and Instrument rating (without limitations)
• Current ATP Certificate or written
• Current FE Turbojet Rating or written (FEX or Basic/turbojet)
• Must pass FAA mandated drug screen
• Recency and type of experience is considered
• Meet requirements for and currently hold First Class Medical certification
• College Degree from an accredited college or university
• Eligibility for rapid visa issuance, issued by offices in the United States to fly to any FedEx destination.
• Ability to obtain clearance from United States Postal Service for handling or access to U.S. mail, which includes FBI fingerprint check, and candidate must have resided in the United States for the last five consecutive years (except for U.S. military assignments)
• Eligibility for issuance of US Security Clearance
• 1500 hours total fixed-wing time as pilot-in-command (PIC) or second-in-command in multi-engine turbo-prop A/C or jet A/C or combination thereof, including a minimum of 1000 hours total fixed-wing pilot-in-command in multi-engine turbo prop A/C or jet A/C or combination thereof.
  Note: PIC for this purpose is defined as Captain/Aircraft Commander of record, not simply the sole manipulator of the controls.
  Note: FedEx considers only pilot time in fixed wing aircraft toward minimum qualifications. This does not include simulator, helicopter, flight engineer, bombardier, navigator, RIO, EWO, WSO, NFO, or Special Crew.
• All certificates and ratings required to be U.S.A. FAA issued

there it is in black and white...get it!

 

[pilotyip]

Yes FedEx is one of the college degree only airlines out there. But I think there is better change of college degree pilot being turned down by FedEx than there is of a non-degreed guy being turned down by JB, SWA, or AirTran. Some airlines do not let the absence of a degree stand in the way of hiring the right pilot. FedEx in its early days could have cared less about a college degree, I know a guy who went there in 1975 he was a NavCad.

 

[CaptainMark]

the only reason i posted that was to show that the degree is used to dwindle down the list of applicants..i have flown with guys at a previous job were were awesome aviators and did not go to college...i also know many guys that don't have college and are working other places..now if there was a shortage obviously that would be one of the quals that might disappear...but it is a requirement and if you have the means to get one ..you should..that's all

 

[800Dog]

Yes FedEx is one of the college degree only airlines out there. But I think there is better change of college degree pilot being turned down by FedEx than there is of a non-degreed guy being turned down by JB, SWA, or AirTran.

What? I am in the wrong line of work!

 

[SiuDude]

So...I'm pretty much in charrrrrge of this jet now!

Capt'n Sink Rate, is that you?

 

[FN FAL]

The more you try and resist your "density" (Back To The Future), the worse it gets each time.

Resist "density"? Carl Brashear, is that you?

 

[bestpilot]

I wouldn't be at any major, maybe AirTran or JB, but those I don't want to be at either.
/rant over

Duuuuuude, duuuude, duuude!

Are you sniffin magic markers, or what? I guess you be like one a them cats that like marches to their own like drummer boy and stuff.

Da Blue and Da Tranny are like freaking different, but both are like freaking ree-hee-heelie good places to work, my brother from some uddder planetarian mother!

So, I gots to know....inquiring minds want to know, Duude, I WANT TO KNOW!!!!

Here's like what we da peeps want to know....Dude, if you don't be wantin da Blue or Da Tranny, then what job is like da job dat YOU are looking for?

Oh, yeeaaahh, gimmie some a dat magic marker, duude, I dig dat smell!

 

[bestpilot]

I'd like to personally thank the Moderators for allowing us the use of the IGNORE feature. Thank you.TC

Duuude, you just GOTS to get hired by da Tranny, cause I gots to fly wit you, bro and like get you some brewskis and help you to be like chillin!

Dude, I like NEVER ignore any of dem peeps on ole Flightinfo. You peeps are like the only family I gots!!!!

 

[FlyAuburn]

Duuude, you just GOTS to get hired by da Tranny, cause I gots to fly wit you, bro and like get you some brewskis and help you to be like chillin!

Dude, I like NEVER ignore any of dem peeps on ole Flightinfo. You peeps are like the only family I gots!!!!

bestpilot,
Dude, You crack me up! The only time I laugh on flightinfo is when I read your posts. Please keep em coming and always keep the good attitude. Definately nice to read positive comments.
About this thread - yeah, just go to Auburn, chase the ladies, and fly some on the side when you're sober. Don't forget to ride the beacon and get yo freak on, on runway 36!
Gotta have the degree. Grades? Just don't fail your classes.

 

[buttercup]

I bet P Diddy and Bill Gates really regret not getting that college degree.

 

[atpcliff]

Hi!

AU-1984. Todd Storey was one of my instructors.

Cliff
YIP

 

[RP170]

I don't think it really matters how you did in school. I personally was the salutatorian of my high school class. Went to the Air Force Academy till I damaged a nerve in my shoulder. Was medically discharged and then went to Riddle. Graduated with a 4.0 there and am now on my third regional in about as many years of being in the industry. I think it's more luck of the draw as to where you were hired to start with and not how well you did in school. Unfortunately, I've been at the wrong places at the wrong times.

 

[Bringupthebird]

There was a time when the airline job was so good, the airlines could be selective and one way was a college degree requirement (and 20/20 vision and being male was another). But one day a fellow named Frank Lorenzo woke up and saw the future of aviation and it didn't include overpaid pilots college grad or not.

At one time, the airline's philosophy was, "we're going to teach you to fly our way anyhow" (in fact Eastern used to have an Aero Commander to get single-engine jet guys their multi-engine rating). There was a pride in their operation and they chose who was eligible to get one of the best careers in the world. Then they progressively made the job less technically demanding (the Airbus which is designed to save the passengers from their pilot) and less financially rewarding ('nuff said). Now the entry-level job (or it's equivalent) is likely the one most pilots will be facing for their entire careers. They get hired at Pinnacle or some place with 500TT but due to the shrinking number of mainline jobs, there is nowhere for them to aspire to and there they sit with their stepping stone jammed up their butt. But it's a shiny new jet with a teeny tiny paycheck.

So study something in school that you really love, give the flying thing a shot and then go back and be successful, maybe discover a derivitive of Prozac that is legal to fly with!

 

[Mugs]

If the Airbus was truly designed to save the pax from the pilots by reducing technical demands as you say, what happened in that Gulf Air accident a few years ago? Oh yeah, they couldn't figure out the technical side of things to save their.....

 

[Bringupthebird]

The Airbus isn't crash-proof, but it doesn't rely as heavily on valued skills that justified selectivity and demanded the pay rates of the aircraft of years gone by.


(I had a much more detailed reply that got zapped by the posting button,doggone it!)

 

[Mugs]

Some might argue that those with good stick and rudder skills that were baffled by the complexities of a glass cockpit --- and in some cases bid around it as the career permitted -- didn't deserve the payrates you are talking about. If you get to the point in the Airbus where you feel uncomfortable manually flying an ILS without autothrottles to low mins, then you are a victim of your own prolonged laziness. The old skills still apply.

 

[Bringupthebird]

Some might argue that those with good stick and rudder skills that were baffled by the complexities of a glass cockpit --- and in some cases bid around it as the career permitted -- didn't deserve the payrates you are talking about. If you get to the point in the Airbus where you feel uncomfortable manually flying an ILS without autothrottles to low mins, then you are a victim of your own prolonged laziness. The old skills still apply.

The point is that the Airbus was designed to be flown in full automation which either makes it flyable for the inexperienced or boring for the accomplished. The Airbus is only complex to those who haven't flown it or refuse to dig enough into it's systems to thoroughly understand it (or at least convince yourself you have).

The Airbus has employed protections that, for example, override stick inputs to avoid overspeeding. It limits bank angle and automatically applies TOGA thrust if it senses a critical angle of bank is being approached. All these things are predicated on an inept pilot getting himself into a situation he shouldn't. Predictive Windshear technology eliminates the need for judgement to avoid departing into windshear since the box tells you not to. The synthetic voice will tell you to "RETARD" the trust levers on an autoland, but the thrust is already retarded, you are simply putting the levers where it wants. If you want to put the gear down at too high a speed, too bad it won't let you (with the gear handle). The point is that an Airbus could very likely be operated competently by an ab-initio pilot trained only in the Airbus. He has no need for an understanding of carburetor heat or true course lines on a sectional. 20 hours in the sim would be more productive than 1000 hours of shooting touch and goes in a C-152. And this fact is not lost on those who hire and negotiate pay rates for Airbus pilots.

I think that these technologies probably contribute to safety and have some value. I don't think you should avoid safety equipment out of respect for the pilot's ego. The Airbus was designed with the worst case scenario pilot in mind. The airline executives see this as an opportunity to allow technology to offset experience which in the past came at a high price. The Gulf Air accident was an example of someone getting so far behind the airplane that he became the forewardmost passenger. Had he operated the airplane in full automation (if that was possible given ATC restraints, etc.) the accident likely would not have happened. An otherwise unacceptable level of flying skill would have gone unnoticed.

So getting back to the point of this thread, the profession may not need experienced pilots, let alone college educated ones given the direction that technology has gone.